Major Development of Productivity Theory
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global environmental crisis today, the significant theoretical and practical significance
of this important viewpoint for promoting economic and social sustainability will
gradually come to the fore.
That General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remark that “protecting and improving the
ecological environment is protecting and increasing productivity” is a major development of the productivity theory is also reflected in the implication that “the
ecological environment is an important factor of productivity,” which enhances and
elevates people’s understanding of the relation between ecological environment and
productivity.
“The human power of reforming natural objects into material resources meeting
their needs through production includes laborers with certain knowledge, experience and skills, means of labor, mainly means of production, and objects of labor.
Laborers are the principal active factor.” This is the typical description of productivity by mainstream economics. For a long time, people have made many meaningful explorations on the definition of productivity, and have put forth the scientific
assertion that “science and technology are primary productivity,” which offers us a
new angle to find out the scientific definition of productivity. However, the relation
between ecological environment and productivity is hardly ever mentioned. This
is exactly why we usually neglect environmental factors when developing productivity. Some places even pursue economic development through unrestrained resource
consumption, environmental pollution, and ecological damage, which has resulted
in increasingly prominent issues on energy, resources, and the ecological environment. As General Secretary Xi Jinping said, “we’ve owed too much debts on the
environmental front. If we don’t strengthen this work now, we’ll have to pay a much
higher price in the future.”
Environmental factors have a direct bearing on the sustainable economic and social
development of China, but they have been seriously ignored. It is amid such a grave
situation that General Secretary Xi made the scientific assertion that “protecting and
improving the ecological environment is protecting and improving productivity,”
which reveals the true relation between the ecological environment and productivity. The implication it contains—ecological environment is an important factor
of productivity—stresses that every aspect of the ecological environment is closely
connected with productivity.
First, a sound ecological environment is the precondition for the survival and
life of laborers, the primary factor of productivity. This is because, according to the
principles of human ecology, the existence and life of man relies on the sustained
functioning of natural ecosystem, which ensures the supply of energies and materials.
As Marx said, “The first premise of all human existence… is that men must be in
a position to live in order to be able to ‘make history’. But life involves before
everything else eating and drinking, a habitation, clothing and many other things.”
The “eating and drinking, a habitation, clothing and many other things” all come from
a sound ecological environment. In General Secretary Xi’s words, “a sound ecological
environment is the most equitable public product and the most inclusive wellbeing,”
which applies the same to everyone. Without a sound ecological environment, say,
199
global environmental crisis today, the significant theoretical and practical significance
of this important viewpoint for promoting economic and social sustainability will
gradually come to the fore.
That General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remark that “protecting and improving the
ecological environment is protecting and increasing productivity” is a major development of the productivity theory is also reflected in the implication that “the
ecological environment is an important factor of productivity,” which enhances and
elevates people’s understanding of the relation between ecological environment and
productivity.
“The human power of reforming natural objects into material resources meeting
their needs through production includes laborers with certain knowledge, experience and skills, means of labor, mainly means of production, and objects of labor.
Laborers are the principal active factor.” This is the typical description of productivity by mainstream economics. For a long time, people have made many meaningful explorations on the definition of productivity, and have put forth the scientific
assertion that “science and technology are primary productivity,” which offers us a
new angle to find out the scientific definition of productivity. However, the relation
between ecological environment and productivity is hardly ever mentioned. This
is exactly why we usually neglect environmental factors when developing productivity. Some places even pursue economic development through unrestrained resource
consumption, environmental pollution, and ecological damage, which has resulted
in increasingly prominent issues on energy, resources, and the ecological environment. As General Secretary Xi Jinping said, “we’ve owed too much debts on the
environmental front. If we don’t strengthen this work now, we’ll have to pay a much
higher price in the future.”
Environmental factors have a direct bearing on the sustainable economic and social
development of China, but they have been seriously ignored. It is amid such a grave
situation that General Secretary Xi made the scientific assertion that “protecting and
improving the ecological environment is protecting and improving productivity,”
which reveals the true relation between the ecological environment and productivity. The implication it contains—ecological environment is an important factor
of productivity—stresses that every aspect of the ecological environment is closely
connected with productivity.
First, a sound ecological environment is the precondition for the survival and
life of laborers, the primary factor of productivity. This is because, according to the
principles of human ecology, the existence and life of man relies on the sustained
functioning of natural ecosystem, which ensures the supply of energies and materials.
As Marx said, “The first premise of all human existence… is that men must be in
a position to live in order to be able to ‘make history’. But life involves before
everything else eating and drinking, a habitation, clothing and many other things.”
The “eating and drinking, a habitation, clothing and many other things” all come from
a sound ecological environment. In General Secretary Xi’s words, “a sound ecological
environment is the most equitable public product and the most inclusive wellbeing,”
which applies the same to everyone. Without a sound ecological environment, say,